The ancient Indian system of learning is known as the Vedic education system. The system came into being about 5000 years ago and remained well entrenched till the time of the demise of the last great Hindu king. This means that the system has been with us for thousands of years. It is also accepted that ancient India has given much importance to ancient education throughout the ages.
To start with, it is very widely believed that ancient India has always given high regard to education. The system has been evolved from the Vedic period of ancient India that is widely known today as the classical period of ancient India. The primary aim of ancient education in ancient India was not merely to learn facts, but to achieve the full realization of the personality. In the process of learning the Vedas, one learns that the most important part of life is to experience the self and the others. Ancient India gave a lot to study and the learning institutions of that period were highly regarded because they had the advantage of a low overhead cost and a comprehensive range of subjects to choose from.
The ancient education system in India gave much importance to study and its ultimate outcome was the yogic disciplines. There are many advantages of studying the yogic disciplines through the Indian way of study. First, the person learns about the inner self or the wholeness of the individual through the practice of yoga. Once the individual has mastered the various yogic practices and disciplines, then he can achieve real inner happiness and fulfillment by achieving the wholeness of the outer self through unity with the Supreme Self.
Ancient education system in India concentrates on the four primary branches of study namely the science of living, grammar, mantra and phonetics. There is a great coherence between all these branches since ancient times. Grammar refers to arranging words and sentences into a logical structure, while phonetics deals with the arrangement of sounds and their meanings in words. Vinyasa is a modern discipline of applied yoga that came from the Sanskrit language and it aims at perfecting the movements and the poses used in conjunction with breath control. Since ancient times, there has been a close link between yoga and medicine which later developed separately.
The ancient Indian education system in India is characterized by progressive stages and the student has to go through each stage systematically. In this way, the curriculum develops sequentially from the basic level and concentrates mainly on mastering the primary practical skills through chanting. The stages include Patanjali's teachings, Upanishad, Katha Upanishad, Kriyasansutra, Rajasthan Upanishad and Madhya Pradesh Upanishad. In this modern world, the relevance of yoga and its systems have taken another leap with the developments in technology.
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